Ink Covered Souls
by Liast
Summary: The beginning of his life, when time was barely a concept, was filled with love and terms of endearment marked him for the first time. Son. Samael. My angel. - Lucifer and words that stayed forever on their bodies.


The beginning of his life, when time was barely a concept, was filled with love and terms of endearment marked him for the first time. _Son. Samael. My angel. _The words appeared on his chest, where his heart should be, then stretched from neck to his right shoulder, and on his left hip. Big and bold, perfect in more ways that in could be, in a symbolic language that eons later human will learn as _Enochian. _Marked by his Father and Mother. It warmed him everytime they call, everytime they think of him. It became visible, everytime they caress him.

_Brother. _Appeared right after. As big and bold, only less perfect, but it kept growing on his left shoulder blade, right above the juncture of his wing. _Lucifer, _was what they called him after he created the first star of the empty universe, light bringer, a title, and it stayed on his left arm. _Luci _and _Lu_, equally beautiful, etched on the back of his right knee and ankle.

It was like that for some millennia and more, until his Father created human. He met Eve in a garden. The first woman gave him smiles and more. Then, _Luce _marked his sternum, while Adam added _Poison _under his right ear, and he became less virgin when he came back to the Silver City.

Then he Fell, and _Son _and_ My angel _became smaller and faded. _Brother _too, got smaller and uglier. _Samael _almost disappeared, just a sliver of ink now, and _Lucifer_ was a stark contrast, hideous, unlike the meaning of the word itself. He couldn't and wouldn't look if _Luci _and _Lu _disappeared from his body.

* * *

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* * *

He Fell, and in Hell he rose. _King _and _My Lord, _repulsively stretched on his ribs and left calf, and he couldn't stand the sight of them.

* * *

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* * *

He was on his despised throne when _The Devil _burned on his back. Soon, _The Adversary _followed, along with _Prince of Darkness _and _Beelzebub, Abaddon _and _Belial _overlapping one another_. _When he watched _Father of Lies _grow on the back oh his hand, half in cursive and half in jagged, in words that screamed human, he became furious than ever, for he never lie and never will.

So without any word uttered to the demons surrounding him, he flew to Earth for the very first time and see what the cause of it was. He raged and brought fire to the world. It went like that for days, until Amenadiel came and he let his brother dragged him back to Hell. He laughed when his left arm burn, and burn, and burn. He was used to it by now.

* * *

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* * *

Time moved quickly in Hell, despite the dull that he felt everyday. Again, he left to Earth, except this time was for entertainment.

He tried many things, did everything, and regret nothing. Between freckled beauty and gorgeous body, a teasing vixen sat on the word _Monster _on his thigh, while soft hand on the small of his back, in husked voice he asked _what was in there_, and softer lips whispered on his ear, "Phenomenal lover."

He laughed wholeheartedly, even when Amenadiel showed his sour face and dragged him back down again. His grin remained, even when Mazikeen and Shaer, her lover of the week, questioningly looked at him. Hell became less dull for a couple of years after that.

* * *

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* * *

Over the centuries and many accidental shenanigans later, he felt warmth on the back of his right knee and knew that somehow, sometimes, Amenadiel still cared for him. An odd feeling sat on his chest. So, when his impromptu vacation turns into a quest to look for his brother's lost necklace, he agreed to help under the pretense of more time on earth. He wanted to laugh and ridicule him, and he did.

But he also made a deal and he was nothing if not the devil of his word.

* * *

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* * *

His friend was murdered and he became involved with a detective named Chloe Decker. After a couple cases and failed sex proposals, she came to his penthouse for a case. He stripped naked and confidently showed his bare body, marks invisible to her. He offered once again, then their talk turned to the scars on his back, where the juncture of his wings was supposed to be.

"What is that?" Her hand was on his arm as she turned him around. "Seriously. What is that?"

Before her fingers could map the scars, he faced her and his hand gripped her wrist. "Don't. Please." He plead in a broken voice.

Time seemed to stop as Lucifer stared at her and realization downed in him. All the words has became visible to her the moment their skin touched. The scars forgotten. Because all she could saw was the marks on his body, all the curses and profanities for the Devil, and many chants from his sexual partners.

Lucifer looked at the _Mom _across her cheek and it was the first time he ever felt conscious because nobody ever had as many marks as he did. His eyes pleaded louder than the words on his skin and the one that never come out of his mouth, as she locked her eyes to him after a glimpse to his skin-covered ink.

"Okay."

And he let go while his mask slipped back on, "I should get dress. Otherwise, we'll miss the party."

He turned and retreated to his bedroom, showing her his scared back but all she could saw was black marks she couldn't even read as they tripped against one another.

* * *

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* * *

In a mere month he became an official civilian consultant for the LAPD, and new words started to appear on his skin. _Weird. Awesome. Slick bastard. Irresponsible. Charming. Handsome. Evidence thief. _He didn't mind them, not even Dan's apparent _Dick _innocently marked his forehead, right above his eyebrow_. _Although he was amused that _Charming _has hints of Dan's handwriting, too.

Then, _My Partner. _The word appeared one morning and his heart jumped to his throat. It was a woman's handwriting, simple yet he couldn't stop staring at it, at the back of his left hand. He wanted to touch everyone so they could see and he could brag, yet, at the same time, he wanted it to be his little secret that no one could know about.

The Detective have marked him.

* * *

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* * *

A petite woman with Forensic jacket came and introduced herself as Ella Lopez, she became the new addition to the department. She added _Luce _and _ifer _right where she punched him after he found the phone in an encased ice bucket on the crime scene, the words a centimeter apart, small as it was.

She was a hugger and he couldn't relax even for once, after many hugs she trapped him in. His hand was on her bare arm and they saw each other's marks. He took a step back, more uncomfortable as she looked at his many stains that wasn't covered by his fancy suit. She tried to calm him down, and Lucifer stared at her. Here they were, a human with _Rascal_and _Freak _across her neck and arm, calming the Devil himself.

"Luce, it's okay." She said when he jerked his hand away.

"Well, I'm fine." His voice was gentler than usual, eyebrows knitted in confusion. "But surely you don't want anyone to see your marks like that."

"What? I don't mind." At Lucifer's raised eyebrows, Ella added, "Really. I mean, we all got it, right? So, what if we have some ugly names people call us with? Wait a minute. You don't like them? Did people call you many names too? Lucifer, I'm so sorry. Are you sure you're really fine? Oh, come here, big guy."

"What? I'm fine, Miss Lopez. I'm the devil, remember?" Lucifer squirmed when she hugged him again. "I just don't understand. How can you be fine with words like that on your skin?"

Ella pulled the hem of her shirt and turned around, one hand gripped Lucifer's. He was about to reprimand her – _Oh, I knew that you're interested, but, _hung on the tip of his tongue – when the words came into view.

Her back was bare, except for a bold _Thief _stretched to her right hip, but _Sister _stood out, small and sharp.

"I like them," she lowered her shirt, "because I can feel it, even when the person who gave them gone and all that's left is their impression of me. The word stayed."

He remembered a farmer couple and their sick son. _Jesus- oh sorry_ was what they said. They too, were gone, but their words stayed on his foot. A funny little secret. Unconsciously, Lucifer's palm covered the back of his left hand. The only word that mattered.

"Beside, I think the Devil got a bad rep himself." Her smile was blinding and it was infectious. Human would never ceased to amaze him, it seemed.

* * *

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* * *

He showed his devil face to Linda, the word _Delusional patient _on his shin turned into _Infuriating Devil. _He noticed after a couple of week avoiding any mirror, after days and nights craving punishment, after he wished for bold _Murderer _and at the same time being afraid that it would marred his skin.

He broke her too, didn't he?

* * *

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* * *

His mother escaped Hell and instead of curses on his skin, _Son _and _My angel _slowly grew once again. He didn't think much of it, but he played a joyous melody that night. And it was short-lived, because next was anger. At his mother, who meddled with his life and urging him to go back to Heaven, at Amenadiel who let his jealousy blew after how much love their mother poured at him. At his Father, for putting Chloe on his path and manipulating him.

Over the case at the mental hospital, he met God Johnson. He had a talk with him, a little upset that a mortal dared to impersonate the being he called Dad. Lucifer stared right into his eyes and asked him like any other suspects to get confessions.

"Is this a staring contest? 'Cause you know, I'm pretty good at those." Before he could dig deeper, a staff interrupted and he walked out. "It was real good seeing you, Samael."

He didn't want to believe it. He didn't. But the word burned and it blackened after eons of only a sliver of ink on his knee. Hot anger he felt inside his chest after realization that his Father could have said everything God Johnson did was the only thing that took his mind off of it.

Then, with flaming sword in his hand and her mother's soft hands on his neck, they stood in front of each other for the last time and Lucifer couldn't even hate her anymore.

"My angel, I will miss you …" the tremble in her voice broke him and he couldn't speak. "… so much."

He cut the world itself and her light was gone and somehow, he woke up in a dessert. His pants hung low and sunburn covered his body. He looked at the sky as _My angel _burned again but the wings spread on his back was what enraged him more than anything in this world.

* * *

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* * *

He never felt jealousy before, except that time when Daniel tried to get closer again to Chloe, but never before. It was a new concept for him. Or maybe that was because he never had someone to point that out for him. Now, though, now he was jealous of Maze with her unblemished skin. Pure.

Not even once did he ever see mark on her skin. Countless time, for millennia they were always touching, with him inside her or the other way around, in Hell, on earth. She was bare. And yet, when he was busy planning to betray his mother and she was busy saving Linda, Maze was marked.

They were sitting in the Doctor's office, bloody from their earlier scuffle and Linda sounded more upset than ever. "Maze is pissed at you because you used her."

"Sure." And Lucifer, obstinate as always, didn't ever think the gravity of his action.

"Did you even once think of how this affected her?"

"Of course I did. Thought about how she might ruin everything." It was obvious, isn't it? She was a demon forged in Hell after all.

"I meant her feelings." Linda said with hands clenched tightly.

"What?"

"She thought you abandoned her." She stared right into his eyes. "That you didn't care how that affected her."

"But those sort of things never bothered her be …" Lucifer's finger brushed her hand, he turned and look at Maze. At how she stayed silent, hair disarrayed, trail of dry blood marred her face, and tears fell down her cheeks. Then he stared hard, really hard, at the stain on her jaw and he couldn't look away from it.

For a second he wondered who could marked her like that, and that thought was gone as quick as it appeared. He never thought of her as anything, he didn't know what she was to him either. But, for Linda and the Detective's offspring, she was. The word shocked him that he didn't even think of how a being with no soul could be marked like that.

"Oh. Mazikeen. I didn't realize …" she turned and finally looked at him. And that too, was the wrong words to say. "I should have realized."

_Friend. _Covered with dry blood and tears, a stain on her jaw.

* * *

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* * *

Cain appeared and he looked at him in confusion after they touched over many failed attempts of murder/suicide. For a first murderer cursed with eternity, his skin was not covered in profanities like himself. Instead, he was covered by affections and mild insults, and not much of them to boost. The only offensive mark was the one put by Amenadiel on his Father's command.

Everything turned worse after he killed Charlotte and never felt any remorse for it. Lucifer gripped his hand, bones broken and shattered, then he shoved the demon blade in Cain's chest. _Dullard _on his neck the only reminder of how harmless he was before. He crouched beside Cain, ground out sentences and promises to rot in eternal damnation. Hell fire set ablaze in his eyes and it cracks through his skin as Cain died.

"Lucifer." The Detective called and he turned. Her eyes was wide open when she whispered, "It's all true."

He hadn't even realized when the devil face returned but the burn on his thigh was a cruel reminder.

* * *

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* * *

Through the heartbreak over the Detective's rejection, Eve returned to earth. She accepted him, all of him. With all his flaws and harsh marks, with his devil face, with his unrepentant act of killing her son, she accepted him. He was blinded by it and she became his escape. Her word burned on his sternum.

But the hate in his heart bloomed and it rotted his very soul.

"Why don't you hate me?" through gritted teeth and fire in his eyes, he asked her.

And somehow, for an unfathomable reason, "Because I love you."

"Well, you shouldn't."

He hated himself even more.

* * *

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* * *

The prophecy seemed to come true and demons roamed the earth. In his devil form, hideous wings spread on his back, and distorted voice, the King of Hell commanded them to go home. Chloe's small smile was a relief and final acceptance to release evil from the Devil.

Later, over the balcony of his penthouse, Lucifer stared out at the city he called home.

"So, Charlie is back with Linda and Amenadiel. So, you know it's over." The Detective was behind him. He stayed silent for a couple seconds. "Isn't it? is it over?"

"I'd say yes, Detective, but I'd be lying. And …" he took a breath and turned around. "We both know I don't do that."

They stared into each other's eyes and wished for time to stop.

"I have to go back."

She pleaded and pleaded, tears fell down her eyes but his resolve was stronger than ever. He brushed her tears away and the words on their skins was visible for them to see.

"Good bye."

She closed her eyes and his wings flapped. He flew, he fell, and it never mattered which because Hell was neither up nor down, in a sense.

He was in Hell and _My love _forever burned and marked his soul.

* * *

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* * *

It was eons later, or just a blink of an eye, and he was on his despised throne, ash floating in the air, when he felt his wrist burn. There, side by side with an elegant _Naughty, _in a scrawl that he tried so hard to read, moving his arm around to make sense of the word itself. Then he chuckled and cried, there were tears but he was smiling so hard until his cheeks hurt.

_Uncle, _it burned again.


End file.
